Can opener



1 1952 R. HAGEN 2,599,551

CAN OPENER Filed Nov. '7, 1949 Patented June 10, 1952 CAN OPENER Rger-Hagen, Plym u h, Wis... assignor to Western Nowell Mf Co" Ereep rt.L, a corporation of Illinois Application November 7, 1949, SeriaI No.125,881

9 Claims. 1

This inventionrelates. ocan openers and reiers particularly to an openerdesigned to, produce a Pouring opening in the end wall of a can as, forinstance, such cans in which beer and other beverages are now commonlysold. There are two; general versions of such can openers in the priorart. In one, represented by Patent No. 1,996,550 issued to D. F. Sampsonet al., a lifting force must be exerted upon the opener in use thereof.The other, represented by Patent No. 2,053,637. issued to HerbertSchrader, is characterizedby theylfact that the punch section underliesthe handlein such a Way that the-opening force is applied in a downwarddirection toward the top of the can. Both types are subject to the sameobjection. Ineach case the sharp piercing point protrudes in a mannerwhich creates a serious hazard. To overcome this hazard and precludethepossibility of having; the point punctureacarton in which the opener maybe placed along with a number of cans as, for instance, in a case ofcanned beer, it was necessary to provide a separate guard or sheath forthe point.

Attempts have been made in, the past to overcome this objection byfolding or hinging the opener upon itself in such a way that itspiercing; point will be protected, but, in all past applications of thisconcept too great a strain was placed upon the hinge connection. In thepresent invention the opener is also foldable but the construction issuch that very little strain is placed, upon the hinge during theopening of a 0 41.1.

The purpo e oi t s nv nti n, therefore, is to provide an improvedfolding type can opener,

Another object, of this invention is to provide a folding canopenerwherein the punch section lies under the handle section in itsoperative position so that the opener possessesI the advantages of theSchrader typeof opener wherein the opening force is downward.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription. proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by'the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of thehereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of theclaims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of thephysical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the bestmode so far devised for the practical application of the principlethereof, and in which:

Figure lis a herspectiv rview of a, can opener embodying this invention;

' Figure 2 is a side view of the opener illustrating its manner of use;

Figure 3 is a side view of the openerwith its punch section swung aroundto inoperativeposition and, illustrating the manner in which the openermay be used asa bottle cap remover; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the hinge forming portions of thehandle and punch sections, illustrating the same prior to assembly ofthe parts and formation of the hinge.

Referring now particularly to the accompanying drawing the numerals 5and 6 respectively designate the handle and punch sections of theopener, and which sections are hingedly connected as at l. The axis ofthe hinge connection is crosswise or transverse to the handle and punchsections so that the punch section may be swung around .the end of thehandle section from an operative position bearing against the undersideof the handle section as shown in Figures 1 and 2 to an inoperativeposition, overlying the top of the handle section as shown in Figure 3.

Both sections. of the opener are preferably stamped and formed from handstockor other suitable sheet metal, and the handle section has anelongated flat handle portion 8 and an oblique- 1y bent end portion 9.The punch section 6 has a substantially flat attaching end portionIll-of the same width as the handle and a cutting end; portion I i.These end portions of the punch section are disposed at an obtuse angleto each other with the junction therebetween curved and directedoutwardly as at 3 to lieabove the plane of the fiat attaching endportion I0.

Avtongue M is punched out and struck down from the curved medial portionl3 to form a fulcrum adapted to hook under the rim l5 of a cam duringuse of the opener, the relativedisposition of the fulcrum l4 and thecurved medial portion l3 being: such that the rim of the can isaccommodatedv therehetween as clearly shown in Fig ore-2; The cuttingend portion l I is substantiallytriangular a d t rminates in a bo ked. peroinsr int It so that upon placing the punch section in operative,position upon a can as shown dotted lines in Figure 2 the-cutting endportion overlies the adjacent top end wall 11 of the can with itspiercing point It resting thereon. Attention s directed to the fact thatthe attaching end portion of the punch section and the bent end portion9 of the handle section are of such relative lengths that the curvedmedial portionv 13 of the punch section lies just beyond the bend in thehandle section when the opener is in its operative position. Thisenables the attaching portion NJ to lie flat against the underside ofthe end portion 9 and also brings the rounded medial portion l3 of thepunch section under the forward part of the handle proper and thusstrengthens the structure at an otherwise weak point, since it locatesthe center of moments about which the forces acting on the handlesection tend to produce rotation at a distance from the bend'in thehandle which, of course, is structurally the weakest part thereof.

The hinge connection 7 is conveniently formed by a tongue l8 narrowerthan the handle section and extending from the end of its upwardly bentportion 9 to be passed through a transverse slot 20 in the end of theattaching portion to and curled about the land 2| lying between the slotand the end of the attaching portion.

It is to be noted that the tongue I 8 is curled around the land 21 in aclockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 2 and 3. This affords greaterassurance against spreading open the hinge loop by the stress imposedthereon during operation of the opener.

Though the opener will function satisfactorily if the punch section isfree to swing about the hinge, it is preferable to releasably hold thepunch section in its operative and inoperative positions. Any suitabledetent means may be employed for this purpose, but the expedient shownhas proved entirely satisfactory. As best shown in Figure 4., the tongueIt has two sets of opposite nubbins 22 and 23 on its side edges. Thesenubbins protrude to a height such that the width of the tongue acrossthe tops thereof is slightly in excess of the length of the slot 2iHence, as the punch section is swung about the hinge the nubbins 22 and23 must be forced through the slot 20.

By proper location of these nubbins Z2 and 23 one set thereof will be inposition to hold the punch section in its operative position, and theother set thereof will hold the punch section in its inoperativeposition.

In the inoperative position of the punch section shown in Figure 3 inwhich it overlies the top of the handle the piercing point is enters asocket 24 in the handle. This socket is conveniently produced bypunching a flanged hole down into the handle at the appropriatelocation.

If desired, the opposite end of the handle may be provided with aconventional cap remover indicated generally by the numeral 25 and whichfunctions in the manner illustrated in Figure 3. It is appreciated,however, that this cap remover has no cooperative relation with the canopener per se.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, it will be readily apparent that this invention provides a canopener suitable for producing a pouring opening in the end wall of a canin a manner approved for the serving of canned beer and the like whereinprotection is afforded for the punch section by folding the same back onthe handle, and that by virtue of the fact that the punch sectionunderlies the handle in its operative position a more convenient andeffective opening action is obtained while at the same time the strainupon the hinge connection is reduced to a minimum.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A folding can openerfor producing a pouring opening in an end wall ofa can, comprising: a handle section; a rigid one piece punch sectionhaving an attaching end portion and a cutting end portion terminating ina piercing point, said end portions defining an obtuse angle to oneanother; a fulcrum-forming hook on the punch section at the junction ofits twoangularly disposed end portions and on the inside of the angle;and a hinge connecting the end of the attaching portion to one end ofthe handle, the axis of the hinge being crosswise of the handle and thepunch section, and the hinge enabling the punch section to be swung froman inoperative position in which the punch section overlies the top ofthe handle with its piercing point facing the handle to be guardedthereby to an operative position in which the back of the punch sectionbears against the underside of the handle with its fulcrumforming hookin position to hook under the rim of a can bounding the end wall inwhich a pouring opening is to be produced and its cutting end inposition to pierce the end wall and cut a pouring opening therein uponthe application of force on the handle toward the can.

2. The folding can opener set forth in claim 1 further characterized bythe provision of detent means embodied in the hinge for releasablyholding the punch section in its operative position and in itsinoperative position.

3. The folding can opener set forth in claim 1 further characterized bythe fact that the hinge connecting the handle and punch sectioncomprises a transverse slot in one of said members near the end thereof,and a tongue extended from the end of the other member received in saidslot and curled about the land lying between the slot and the end of thefirst designated member.

4. The folding can opener set forth in claim 1 further characterized bythe provision of a socket in the handle in position to receive thepiercing point when the punch section is in its inoperative position.

5. The folding can opener set forth in claim t further characterized bythe fact that said socket comprises a downwardly flanged hole punchedinto the handle.

6. A folding can opener for producing a pouring opening in an end wallof a can, comprising: an elongated handle section having one end portiondisposed at an angle to the body of the hantile; a punch section havingan attaching end portion and a cutting end portion disposed at an obtuseangle to one another; a piercing point at the outer end of the cuttingend portion; a fulcrum hook at the junction of said end portions on theinside of the angle defined by said end portions; and a hinge connectionbetween the outer end of the attaching end portion and the end of saidangularly disposed end portion of the handle, the axis of said hingeconnection being crosswise to the handle and punch sections so that thepunch section may be swung from an inoperative position in which thepunch section overlies the top of the handle and its piercing pointfaces the handle to be protected thereby, to an operative position inwhich the back of its attaching portion bears against the underside ofthe angularly end portion of the handle with the fulcrum hook in suchposition to hook under the rim of a can bounding the end wall in whichthe pouring opening is to be produced and its cutting end portion inposition to pierce said end wall and cut a pouring opening therein uponthe application of force on the handle toward the end wall.

7. A folding can opener for producing a pouring opening in an end wallof a can, comprising: an elongated handle having one end portion thereofdisposed at an obtuse angle to the rest of the handle; a punch sectioncomprisin a substantially fiat attaching portion and a triangularcutting end portion terminating in a piercing point, said end portionsbeing disposed at an obtuse angle to one another and the junctionbetween said members being formed to provide an outwardly curved androunded intermediate portion; a fulcrum projecting down from the medialportion of the punch section and having an upwardly directed hook facingthe inside of said curved intermediate portion to hook under the rim ofa can when the inside of said curved intermediate portion overlies thetop of the rim; a hinge connection between the outer ends of saidattaching portion and the angularly disposed end portion of the handle,said attaching end portion and angularly disposed end portion of thehandle being of about the same length so that when the punch section isin its operative position the top of its attaching portion bears againstthe underside of the angularly disposed portion of the handle and thecurved intermediate portion of the punch section lies slightly beyondsaid bend in the handle, said hinge connection enabling the punchsection to be swung fully around the end of the handle to a positionoverlying the handle wlth its piercing point facing the handle to beprotected thereby.

8. A folding can opener of the character described, comprising: a handlesection and a punch section, the punch section having a substantiallytriangular cutting end portion terminating in a piercing point and havinan attaching end portion disposed at an obtuse angle to the cutting endportion; a fulcrum on the punch section at the junction of its cuttingand attaching end portions and on the inside of the angle definedthereby for engagement under the rim of a can while its cutting endportion and piercing point overlie said end wall; and means hingedlyconnecting said attaching end portion to one end of the handle sectionwith the hinge axis crosswise of the handle section so that the punchsection may be swung from an operative position in which the back of itsattaching portion bears against the underside of the handle section andits cutting end portion projects angularly from the handle section, toan inoperative position in which the punch section overlies the handlesection and its piercing point faces the same to be protected thereby.

9. The folding can opener set forth in claim 8 further characterized bythe provision of detent means for releasably holdin the punch section inits operative and inoperative positions.

ROGER HAGEN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Acker July 5, 1938Number

